It's our money

Dear Editor,

Ex-xx-cu-uuse me The "City Money Sought for Keystone" headline in Tuesday's Gazette is not factual, Fact is it ain't the city's money … it's our money.

Every dime the city has comes from our tax dollars or income generated by facilities built with our tax dollars. Even loot received from the feds comes from our taxes. Government only provides the staff and support necessary to serve as a conduit for our money to projects that will benefit the community.

The Keystone will benefit the community and should be subsidized to the extent necessary to see it happens. It will retain jobs and create new high tech jobs as well as provide space designed to attract additional high tech entities. It will free up space at MCC to allow room there for future expansion. It will serve as a shining example of McCook's progressive and aggressive approach to the future.

Maybe I missed something but I can't think of a single item on the city's wish list that will create a single private sector job or be a factor in retaining our young folks or addresses our population decline.

The Keystone would speak to these issues.

About the only benefit I would receive from its becoming a reality is that when folks I know visit McCook, I could point to it with pride. I am weary of trying to explain why such a magnificent building is being allowed to deteriorate, explaining why this building is vacant, why that building is vacant, what happened to X business and Y business.

In addition to the assistance requested by MEDC, the city should commit to a grant of $500,000, payable at $50,000 a years for 10 years. They can afford it ... they have $9,000,000 in reserve, interest alone on same should be in excess of $200,000 a year.

They had $500,000 more than they could spend left over from last year's sales tax receipts and we recently gave them another $350,000 a year by increasing the sales tax recently. From day one, sales tax revenues have exceeded projections.

Remember, the federal government is picking up about $2,000,000 of the tab, which makes this project a bargain for our community.

Some of the city's wish list items may have to be delayed ... put off buying a new vehicle for the city shoe shine boy, put off buying bullet-proof socks for the police department, etc.

The dilly-dally must stop.

'Nuff Said

Bill Frasier

McCook